FAMILY COMMUNICATION PATTERNS AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The relationship of family communication patterns to indicators of political development between children in fourth and fifth grades and adolescents in eleventh and twelfth grades is compared. Parents' and children's levels of political knowledge, political interest, frequency of political discussion, and exposure to political information in the mass media were measured. Results suggest that the nature of parent-child communication and effects of that interaction depend not only on messages stressed by the parent but also on the child's own cognitive abilities and goals.